Saga of Survival
by SuperWuppy
Summary: When a teenager is thrust into the world of Minecraft in a twisted experiment, he must fight to survive and regain his memory. Rated T for possible violence.
1. Awakening

Hey guys, this is my first fanfic, and I chose to write about my favorite game, Minecraft.

I know the amnesia thing is totally clichéd, but the protagonist does regain memory, trust me. Feel free to point out errors in reviews.

-SuperWuppy

Chapter 1

**Awakening**

"Nooooooo!"

I bolt upright, jolted out of slumber.

My heart is pounding. I don't know where I am.

I don't know _who _I am.

I frantically search my mind for something, anything, to hold on to, but all of my memories- the city where I lived, the faces of my family and friends- are slipping away like water.

I slump back down to the ground, utterly hopeless. I can't remember anything, but I do have a sense that something is profoundly wrong, that I should not be here.

But where is here?

It only occurs to me then to stand up and take a look around. If this is the place where I will meet my demise, I may as well be familiar with it.

I am standing atop a lush green hill. Before me spreads a dense forest of pine and birch trees, which extends as far as my eyes can see. Spinning around, I take in an arid desert, devoid of all life, stretching out behind me, and the deep blue ocean on my left, with squids and multicolored fish lounging within.

I stand in silent shock. _How can all of these regions exist in such close proximity?_

I sit back down on the hill, with my feet dangling over the edge. I need a plan if I am to survive in this new world. I don't know if there is anything here that I can eat, or if the land will pose any dangers to me, but I decide on one thing as I look at the new territory laid out before me. I will survive here, and I will never give up.

I look at my body, which is unmarked, suggesting that I entered no conflict in my entrance to this land. Or have I been here all along, and just can't remember? I estimate that I am a teenager of thirteen or fourteen years.

Glancing down, I see that I have traced letters into the sand at my feet unconsciously. Examining them closer, I see that they spell out a name- W-I-L-L. Will? Is that my name?

Energized, I stand up and prepare to descend into the forest. I have a purpose, and a name. Although I am no better off than I was ten minutes ago, I feel like the richest person alive.

My first task is to find some sort of sustenance, to keep me from starving to death. I wander in among the close-set pines, looking from left to right as I search for some sort of food. In between the roots of a tree, illuminated by a shaft of green-tinted light, is a cluster of brown-capped mushrooms. I pluck one from the ground, and sniff it cautiously. I really don't want to eat the fungus, since I have no idea if it is poisonous or not. But at this point, I don't see that I have much of a choice. I take a tentative bite of the mushroom, and find to my delight that it is actually rather tasty. It has a full, earthy flavor to it. I gobble down two more, then scoop the rest into my pockets. I'll need to figure out a way of making a more efficient bag soon.

Next on my list of needs is a shelter. I will need to find one quickly, as a glance at the sky reveals that night is already falling. I don't see anything that can protect me from the elements, or any hostile wildlife, around my present location, so I move on a little bit farther. Padding over the soft forest floor, without so much as a snap of a twig to announce my presence, I come across a cave set into a hillside. I poke my head in and take a look around. It's rather musty, and will be dark when night comes, but there's nothing I can do about that. I find a comfortable-looking spot in the corner of the cave, drag in some moss to sleep on, and arrange it in a nest-like shape on the ground. Rubbing my hands together, I admire my handiwork.

Suddenly, a low growl makes my hair stand on end.

Coming out of the shadowy recesses of the cave, looming out of the darkness, is a human figure.

I stand stock still in the cave mouth, hoping the creature won't notice me.

It does.

As it approaches, I see the ripped rags and greenish skin covering its body. Only one word comes to mind- _zombie_.

I scream, losing my head completely, and make a run for it. The zombie picks up speed and begins the chase.

Pelting through the narrow forest path, I forget to see where my feet are landing, and trip over an outstretched root. I scrabble on the ground, trying to get up, but my legs seem to have no energy left.

I bury my head in the dirt. _How did it come to this? Barely a day of accessible memory, and my life is over._ Misery threatens to crush me just as surely as the zombie.

Suddenly, the groaning stops. Everything stops. The breeze, chirps of bugs, everything.

There is a colossal flash of light that blinds me for about twenty seconds. When my eyes readjust, the zombie is gone.

I droop back down onto the ground, close my eyes, and fall into deep sleep, utterly exhausted.

In a chilly, white-paneled lab room, a group of coated scientists stand peering at a row of computer monitors. One shows Will's perspective, one is pointed at Will from a distance, and one is a giant map of the land in which Will is trapped.

"Are we even sure that this can work?" asks the youngest scientist. His nametag reads 'Derek'.

"No, of course not," intones a tall, thin man with spectacles perched on his nose. He wears no nametag. "This experiment holds every chance of failure. After all," he says, glancing over to a padded chair, which holds a boy of Will's exact description, and has innumerable wires running every which way out of it, "None of this even exists in reality."


	2. A New Friend

Yo schmos! It's SuperWuppy again, with Chapter 2. Hope you enjoy!

And don't forget…. 24 is 10, 10 is 3, 3 is 5, 5 is 4, and 4 is cosmic! (though technically cosmic is 6!)

Whoever can tell me what 36 is wins a cookie!

**Chapter 2**

**A New Friend**

_Will…_

_I'm sorry… It's the only way…_

_You'll thank me someday…_

I groan. The light is cutting through my eyelids, and breaking apart my dream.

_If you survive… _

_Good luck…_

I crack my eyes open.

I slowly sit up, and am momentarily shocked to see the forest surrounding me. Then I remember.

I am stuck in this other world, which as far as I can tell so far, has no other friendly life on it.

Just as I'm ruminating on the lack of any other creature that is not trying to kill me, something nudges my leg.

"AARGH!" I scream involuntarily, jumping back and adopting a fighting stance as I prepare to deal with this new menace. Is it another zombie? An overgrown bug?

Maybe it's some sort of kamikaze exploding thing that will blow itself and me to bits any second… No, that's absurd.

Actually, it's a pig. A fat little pink oinker. It's sort of cute.

The sight is so ridiculous, and so different than what I was expecting, that I start laughing out loud. I don't really care that any passerby will think I'm an idiot, because the issue at hand

is that there are no passerby. As I stare down at the pig, some sort of primal instinct awakens within me. I see not an animal, but floating strips of bacon.

I lick my lips in anticipation.

But… no.

This thing is in just as much danger as I am. Why should I kill it for a mouthful of food? I still have some mushrooms left over, anyway.

I decide to keep the pig as a pet!

I crouch down in front of the pig, who is observing me with a cocked head. "Hey there, buddy!" I say in a high-pitched voice. I'm gonna call you… uh…" I cast my mind about for some sort of

incredibly dazzling and creative name. Then it hits me! After all, it's all I see when I look at him.

"Bacon!" I exclaim.

The newly christened Bacon oinks rebelliously.

"Now, now, Bacon, don't be like that," I plead. "Here, have a mushroom!"

The scientists in the bare, white room watch the scene with interest.

"There, there!" says Derek. "Anyone else would have chopped up that pig with their bare hands! He gave it a mushroom! I told you he was the right one!"

As the intern dances jovially around the room, the other scientists shake their heads disdainfully.

"What this kid has to do won't be helped by owning a pet pig!" rages one coated individual. "He needs strength! Courage!"

Derek nods serenely. "You'll see. Thinking outside the box, doing what no one else would- that will serve him far better."

The tall scientist with no name tag clears his throat. "It better. What happened last night was a one-chance deal. We can't save him again."

I stand by the river, looking at growths of reeds that dot the bank. Bacon oinks happily at my side.

I dredge up a hazy memory. I recall that the ancient Egyptians made some sort of paper-ish thing out of reeds… Papyrus, that was it.

I pluck some reed and look at it in my hand, absentmindedly lining up the strands. _Paper would be pretty useful…_ I thought.

Suddenly, my hand flashed with brilliant light. I watch, amazed, as the reeds seem to melt together and spread into a perfect sheet of blank paper.

I drop it like it was on fire.

Backing away from the paper, I attempt to sort out my thoughts.

_What did I just do? I created something. No, I didn't create it. I had the materials, and somehow… just made it happen._

_I… crafted it?_

I decide to try it on something else. A bowl would be useful, too. I gather up some sticks, and bend them into a crude bowl-like shape, binding it together with reeds.

_I need a bowl_, I think, imagining it clearly in my mind's eye.

A perfect wooden bowl appears on my hand.

_How about… about….aha!_

I lay out on the ground a short stick, and two pointed rocks I find by the riverside.

_A sword! I need a sword! _

Laying my hand on the contraption, I wait with bated breath. Sure enough, a wicked stone sword appears on the ground.

I heft it in one hand the balance is perfect.

"Your name is Tamerlein!" I declare, looking down the blade. I imagine dramatic music playing in the background.

I set off for my shelter. Those zombies will have a reckoning tonight!

An hour later, I am hopelessly lost. Bacon is still resolutely following me, but is periodically letting out tired oinks.

"Sorry, Bacon… a little farther…" I pant. Climbing the millionth hill, I look out at an open plain and stop dead.

I see a village of wooden houses and a stone church rising above the streets.

"CIVILIZATION!" I scream, my voice cracking.

I race down the hill, Bacon at my side.

It's a little shorter than Ch. 1, but I wanted to have a cliffhanger.

What will Will find in the village? Is Bacon a cool name or what?

If you got the sword reference, you are a boss!

Stay tuned...


	3. Uneasy Allies

**Hey guys, welcome back to Saga of Survival.**

**No one got my puzzle yet? More clues: 42 is 8, 8 is 3, 3 is 5, 5 is 4, 4 is cosmic.**

**Cookie still up for grabs!**

**Also, this chapter features a character created by allyofkatniss, another fanfic author. If you want to have a character too, feel free to PM me.**

**Without further ado, let's go!**

CHAPTER 3

Uneasy Allies

I descend down the hill, cautiously eyeing the village that stands before me. I can't trust anything- for all I know this could be a zombie settlement.

It strikes me as odd that the only hostile thing I have seen so far is a zombie. Is there anything else in this land that will try to kill me?

If I find out, it will have to be the hard way.

A loud moo interrupts my thoughts. Bacon oinks in surprise. Looking around, I see a herd of cows leisurely chewing the cud by the village's borders.

I am loath to end the life of any creature trapped in this world like me, but I have no choice. I can't live on mushrooms forever- I need meat!

I draw my sword, gulp, and creep toward the bovines.

One difficult, bloody hour later, I have successfully slain and butchered the cows. I am no expert in this field, and it was certainly the most harrowing experience

that this world has given me, but I have several slabs of raw beef to show for it, as well as some strips of cowhide. If i can somehow make it into leather, I can make clothes

and a pack. Leaving my spoils where I found them for the moment, I enter the village.

"Hello?" I call in a wavering voice. "Anyone… anyone home?" I hate the way my voice rings out. If there is anyone in the town, I must sound like an easy target.

"Hello…" I call again, opening the door of one house. Deserted.

"Anyone-" I begin as I enter the next house. My words are swiftly cut off by a flash of motion.

Time slows down.

I perceive a line of silver metal slicing toward my throat. Faster than thought, I flick Tamerlein up from where it hangs at my side to parry the blow.

_How did I do that? _I wonder as I leap out of the doorway. My assailant pursues.

I get a split-second look at him as he flies at me. Brown hair, brown eyes. He has on an iron chestplate for armor, and holds a sharp iron sword.

He attempts to stab me in the chest, but I barely manage to block him again. Lashing out, I mange to twist his sword away from his arm, towards the ground. The force of the blow momentarily stuns him.

Before he can react, I drop my sword and charge him, tackling him hard head-on. We both go down in a tangle of limbs.

I can't see much as we wrestle for the sword. He keeps trying to slice me anywhere he can, while I desperately try to push his arm far enough away to retrieve my own weapon.

He kicks out with both feet, sending me flying off of him with a surprised "Oof!" Bacon squeals in fear from the sidelines. I grit my teeth, almost blinded by a haze of pain as I crumple against a brick wall. _Real helpful there, porkchop._

I scrabble around on the ground around me, trying to find Tamerlein, but I sight it on my attackers other side. Hopelessness washes over me.

The brown-haired swordsman walks over to me and plants his foot on my chest, pinning me to the ground. He raises his sword, preparing to stab.

I close my eyes. "This is the end." I mutter, half to myself.

My attacker's eyes widen in shock. "What did you say? Are you… are you looking for it too?"

This is such a surprising statement, it takes a moment for me to gather my thoughts in a coherent manner. "Wh-what… What are you looking for?"

Apparently convinced by my ignorance that I am no direct threat, he sheathes his sword, but keeps me pinned. "The End, of course! I thought you just said something about it!"

I am so confused. "I said… this is the end."

His brow wrinkles in confusion. "No it's not! Do you see any dragons around here? I don't!"

I groan from the weight of his foot. "It was just a figure of speech… can you let me up so we can talk about it?"

He considers it for a moment. "Fine. But no funny business. I'm Niegel, by the way." He offers his hand, and I take it to pull myself up.

"Here, come on in," he says, motioning toward the house in which our battle started. Walking into the house, I see a comfortable-looking couch, a roaring fireplace,

a table with two chairs, and a row of bookshelves. We sit down at the table.

I decide to start the conversation. "So, what is this 'End' thing? I haven't heard of it, but I'm pretty new here."

He meets my eyes. "The End is the ultimate goal. It's what _they _want us to find. What we need to find. It's… it's the endgame. The only way to shut this thing down, once and for all."

"Wait… you mean… we're in some kind of…"

"It's all a simulation," says Niegel. "I don't exist. This table doesn't exist. This _world _doesn't exist! Are you trying to mess with me? How could you not know that? _We're in a computer program!_"

I blink. "Sorry. My memory is all gone. This world is all I remember. Except…" I hesitate, recalling my strange dream of a few nights before. "The first night I was here, I heard something… in a dream.

I think it was a memory. It was someone saying something like.. I would thank them… if I survived. And they were sorry for doing it."

Niegel gasps. "You mean… you were put in here? You weren't here from the Coding?"

"No…" I say weakly. "Coding?"

"The creation of our world. I'm just part of the program. But you… you are a Player! This is big! This could be what I was looking for! Maybe you are the one who can find the End!"

"Wait," I say, "If you are part of the program, why do you want to end that? Won't that kill you?"

"I don't really know," says Niegel casually. "It's part of my code! Finding the End… it's the final achievement! The fulfillment of everything a program can strive for!"

"Oooo-kay.." I mutter to myself, kind of surprised at this guy's sudden ferocity. "Getting out of here sounds pretty good to me. All I've met so far is an ugly zombie and a loose cannon line of code."

Something else occurs to me. "Niegel, if we're part of a simulation… What's the purpose? I mean, why was this made?"

"No idea," he says. "You should know, you were the one who _agreed _to be part of it."

"I told you, I don't remember any of it."

"Well," declares Niegel, standing up, "regardless, our path seems clear. You can help me get to the End, and get yourself out in the process. So, we must return to the hunt!"

"Niegel… how do we even get to the End? What do we have to do?"

Niegel meets my eyes again, and for the first time, all I see in his face is pure fear.

**Well, that's Chapter 3. I tried to put in a little action, maybe didn't succeed, but whatevah. See you guys in Chapter 4, and feel free to send me character submissions!**


	4. Invasion

**Hey guys. Now that I am back to school (where did the break go?) I will be shooting for one chapter every weekend, and one or two during the week if I have time. Also, I am rather insulted that Mellifluousness's brain laughed at my puzzle, so I'll give you a hint. Write the numbers as WORDS, and not numerals. What does 3 have 5 of?**

**Story beginning in 3….2…..1….**

**Chapter 4**

**Trapped**

_OK, Will. It's almost time. Time to start the simulation…._

I roll over in my sleep.

_Remember, just three days… you only need to survive for three days…_

"Will! Wake up or I'm cooking Bacon!"

_See you then…_

A deluge of cold water slaps me in the face.

Choking and spluttering, I leap out of bed and brandish Tamerlein, ready to tear whatever horror awaits me limb from limb.

No, wait, it's just Niegel.

"Sorry!" he apologizes, not sounding very contrite at all. "You can't just lay around all day! We have stuff to do!"

My arrival seems to have fired his determination to find this End place. "Look, Niegel, this whole End expedition sounds like a lot of work. We probably can't get it all done in one day…"

"That's not what I'm talking about!" he retorts. "We need to shore up this town's defenses. I just took a little stroll around, and I ran into a zombie! I barely got away."

Looking at his chestplate, I can verify his statement's veracity. There is a long scratch running from shoulder to hip, cut into solid iron. _Ouch._

"Isn't there anyone else in this village that can help us do it?" I ask. There's a whole village, for goodness sake.

"No, actually. No." Niegel looks regretful. "Two days ago, early in the morning, everyone just… vanished. Cut out of the code. I've been hiding out here ever since."

"Why would they be taken out of the simulation?" I ask.

Niegel shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe the Coders wanted you to meet me, and no one else."

The Coders… the people that made this crazy program. I think back to the flash of light that vaporized the zombie on my first night. Was that their doing, too?

I pull myself back together. "Well, before we work on defenses, I left a lot of meat and cowhide outside last night, so…"

We head outside the village. Surprisingly, the meat is still there, although one slab has been dragged away. _Zombies,_ I assume.

I heft the meat over my shoulder and carry it back to Niegel's house. We put it on his grill, which is heated by a furnace below it burning coal, then turn our attention to the cowhide.

Niegel nods. "I know what to do with this," he says. "The tannery is on the other side of town. Why don't I head over there, while you find us some stone for the defenses."

"Wait… how?"

"There's a chest full of tools in the corner. They're made of wood, but I can't make new ones, so they are all I've got."

"I think… I think I can."

He gives me a long look. "Why do you think that?"

"On my second day here, I made a sword out of sticks and a pointy rock. This sword, actually," I say, showing him Tamerlein.

He stares at it. "You can craft?"

"Yes, I suppose," I say, surprised that he used the same term I thought of when I first did it.

"Ok… well, go nuts, I guess," says Niegel as he leaves, seemingly distracted.

I turn back to the pickaxes. I may as well use them for now, because I can make a stronger one in the process of gathering stone.

I take three axes, putting two into my backpack, and set off for the hills with Bacon oinking by my side.

Finding a suitably large cliff, I begin chipping out chunks of stone. It's hard, tiring work, but I'm willing to do it if it means I can sleep safe from zombies.

When I have a good pile of stone, I decide it's time to call it quits. The day is already darkening, and I need to get back soon. How can I transport all this rock back, though?

I look at Bacon, but he only oinks in a confused way. Then I think of an idea. It's unorthodox, but it may work.

I run back into the forest, and come across a river. I look carefully around, attuned to any sound, and then a sight my prey. A lone sheep, drinking at the river.

I slink over to him and silently draw Tamerlein. With one quick movement, I slice off a chunk of wool.

With a terrified 'BAAAA!' the sheep flees deeper into the forest.

I methodically shred the wool into individual strands, then lay them side by side. Placing my hand over them, I whisper, "String."

Ten pieces of white string lie before me.

I knot the strings together sturdily, then once again craft them. "Rope," I mutter. The wool has now become three strong, thick ropes. Is there any limit to what I can craft?

I return to my rocks and arrange them into a more or less spherical shape. Wrapping the ropes around it and securing them wherever they cross, I make a stone ball that I can roll back to town.

I give it a gentle shove, and it begins its journey. Bacon oinks and dives to get out of its way.

Jogging along beside it, the lights of Niegel's house come into view. I stop the stones' roll next to the abode, then turn around, wondering where Niegel is.

The growl of a zombie permeates the silence.

Sprinting down an alley toward the sound, I find Niegel fighting off three zombies at once. He's already been wounded, but continues to fight valiantly.

I draw Tamerlein and begin to join the fray, but Niegel notices me.

"Will!" he shouts. "Run! It's a trap!"

A trap?

I look around, and see crowds upon crowds of zombies encroaching from every direction.

We're surrounded.

The moon rises on our impossible battle.

Meanwhile, in the light-painted laboratory…

One of the scientists watches the clock on the wall. "Aaaaand… Day Three is over! Quick, get him out before the zombies get him!"

Another scientist shrugs. "Hey, doesn't matter. If he dies in simulation, he just comes out, right? He's fine. We succeeded!"

The assembled workers let out a cheer.

"The test run of the Survival Simulator is now finished!" shouts Derek gloriously. "Can you imagine how much the military will pay for this?"

"Remind me why it had to be a kid, again?" asks one of the scientists.

His colleague rolls his eyes. "More creative. Mindset less set in stone. Did you see what he did with that crafting mechanism? Pure gold! The one advantage we gave him… He used it well."

"Now… let's get the kid out. Poor guy. He doesn't even remember agreeing to do this… Oh well, he'll be fine once he comes out."

He crosses over to where Will's body lies recumbent in the chair and flips a switch on the side, lightly slapping Will on the head. "Wake up, Will. Back to reality, kiddo…"

In the zombie-infested village, Will suddenly vanishes, leaving Tamerlein, his backpack, and the pickaxes to clatter on the ground.

"Will!" shouts Niegel, turning his back on the zombies to see where his friend went.

Three zombies jump on him and drag him down.

_Will didn't know where he was._

_Trapped in some limbo between waking and dreaming, he floated in a dark ether, unsupported and unrestrained._

_He saw a light in the distance. Moving toward it, he saw a bleak white laboratory, filled with coated scientists peering through the hole at him. He doubted they could see into this world, though._

_He pushed out into the light, and suddenly…_

Will's body starts convulsing. His eyes open wide, and he screams in pain.

"Hold him! Hold him!" shouts one of the scientists.

As they struggle to hold Will down, two glowing purple eyes appear on all of the screens. A booming, unrelentingly loud voice intones, "DO NOT END THE WORLD. DO NOT STOP THE GAME."

The eyes disappear.

Will stops moving. His eyes shut again.

The scientists stand in shocked silence.

"He's… he's… stuck in there?" asks one.

"So what happens if he dies?" asks another.

No one decides to answer that question.

Derek adds, "I guess now is a bad time to mention that that software developer we called is coming to look at our simulation and see if they want to buy it?"

"Mojang?" asks a scientist.

"Yeah, them."

I reappear in the simulated village, trembling from my recent ordeal.

I sight Niegel buried beneath the zombies. Snatching up Tamerlein, I sweep the zombies off of Niegel's back.

Tearing a piece of cloth off of my shirt and picking up a pebble from the ground, I hold them in my hand, focus, and shout "Sling!"

A weighty sling appears in my hand.

I pick Niegel up. "Will?" he asks, somewhat disoriented. "Where-"

"No time," I say grimly. "We have bigger problems to deal with…

**Boom-diggity! That's Chapter 4.**

**Criticism? Suggestions? Characters? Please review!**


	5. Two Sides of a Coin

**Hello everyone, and welcome back to Saga of Survival.**

**Sorry this took so long to get out, I forgot to save when I was halfway through. :( **

**This chapter features a character created by Mellifluousness!**

**The story begins in 3…2…1….**

Chapter 5

Two Sides of a Coin

The zombies close in around me and Niegel.

Whirling my sling wildly, I manage to deck several undead. Niegel is slicing and

dicing with his sword just behind me, but we're both getting tired. I know we can't hold out much longer.

We back up toward the building. Our scything weapons take down zombies with every attack, but three more fill the place of every incapacitated creature.

"Urrrrrrrrr…" groans a zombie, reaching out to slash me across the face. I barely manage to parry aside his questing arm, but the monstrosities are becoming overwhelming.

I start to despair. The zombies show no sign of relenting, and we can't hold out all night.

Just then, an arrow whizzes out of the darkness.

"Urrrgh?" grunts a zombie, turning towards the source. The battle ceases for a split second, with both sides in confusion.

The zombie's head is struck by another arrow.

Barbed missiles begin to fly, seemingly without end. Each arrow takes down a zombie. I try to count the shots, but quickly lose track. It seems impossible that anyone could carry that many arrows, or shoot them so skillfully.

The zombie horde is plunged into disarray. Terrified groans and pained moans fill the air as the undead struggle to escape, but only run into each other in the attempt.

Finally, when every zombie has fled the village or been slain by arrows, the deadly tide halts.

I hear footsteps, and glance toward the sound.

A dark human figure looms out of the night.

(THIS IS A LINE BREAK!)

Back in the laboratory, the scientists hold an emergency meeting.

"I'll start," says the tall scientist with no name tag. "Our situation, as it stands, is a dire one. Our venture was not exactly legal to begin with, and now we have the problem of a teenager trapped in a computer program, apparently by some sort of malicious virus. The question is, what do we do now?"

Another scientist leans forward. "Yes, the program. The Survival Simulator. Let's talk about that. What was the NA-146 AI talking about? He said that there was an 'End' in the program, a way to shut it down. Then that… thing… that hijacked our computers mentioned 'ending the game.' I am fairly certain that this was never implemented into the program."

"A glitch?" asks one scientist.

The speaker shakes his head. "If it's a glitch in the program, it seems to have latched on to the code and begun to reproduce itself. No bug could cause a complete lockdown in the program."

He looks around the table. "It looks like there's only one possibility. One of us must have coded this into the simulator. One of us has doomed that kid."

(HEY LOOK, ANOTHER LINE BREAK)

The figure moves closer. I finally see it clearly enough to make observations.

The archer that saved our lives is a tall girl with maroon hair and a purple marking over one eye. She stands surveying us with a cold, analyzing glare. Determining if we are a threat.

Well, I know the answer to that question. I'm so tired I can barely stand up.

She makes no move to start a conversation, so I take the initiative.

"Um…hi," I say brilliantly. "I'm Will. This is Niegel. Who are you?"

She stands as silent as ever, staring at us almost angrily.

Suddenly, she quickly walks toward us. I flinch, but she only reaches into her pocket and pulls out two bottles filled with glowing liquid. She hands one to each of us.

I give it a cautious sniff. Is this poison? She certainly seems the type.

I turn toward Niegel. "What do you think?"

He shrugs. "What's the worst that could happen?" He holds his nose and chugs it down. Seeing no ill effects, I do the same.

A warm, pleasant feeling spreads through my body. Looking down, I am surprised to see my various cuts and scratches knitting together, leaving me as healthy as ever.

I look back up. "Thank you," I say. '"So what is your name?"

She utters one word in a rough voice. "Belligerence." She seems embarrassed to make any sound at all.

"Well, it's almost morning," I say. "Me and Niegel need to gather some supplies to finish defending this village. You can go find a house to hang out in, if you want."

She shakes her head, and stalks toward the village borders. I say to Niegel, "Well, looks like we have some help."

As we exit the village into a meadow, I look around to see where Belligerence is. I spot her near the forest border, looking intently at something in her hand.

"So," I say, walking over, "if you want, to gather some wood, I can…" My voice trails off as she looks up. There's something… different about her now. Her eyes are lighter, or softer, or something.

"Hi!" she exclaims, shocking me. "Look at this pretty pretty butterfly! Who are you?"

I stammer, "Um… I'm Will… Didn't I say that already?"

She shakes my hand emphatically. "Hi, Will! Isn't it a great day? It's so sunny!"

I am so confused. "Belligerence, what's going on?"

Her eyes widen. "Oh, my name's not Belligerence! No, no, no! I'm Bellove! Isn't it a great name? I like it too!"

What is wrong with her? It's like some sort of split personality disorder!

I shake my head. "Okay, Bellove. Do you think you can go find us some wood, so the zombies don't attack us again?"

Bellove nods. "I'll go find wood, but I don't mind zombies! They're all my friendly friends!"

"Okay… keep telling yourself that…" I mutter under my breath. Glancing down, I see she dropped her bow in the dirt. It seems to glow with a faint, otherworldly light. "Hey, you dropped something!"

She looks at the bow. "Oh, that's just my fun little toy! It doesn't really do anything. Don't worry!" She walks off into the forest, humming cheerily.

I pick up the bow and return to where Niegel is gathering seeds in the meadow. "Uh, Niegel, we need to talk." I tell him all about Bellove- or Belligerence- Belle, whoever, and her episode.

"What, is she crazy?" he asks.

"Well, she seems a little out there in either form. First she wouldn't talk, now she won't stop."

He sighs. "Well, I don't trust her, but we can't just feed her to the zombies. We'll just have to keep her at a distance for now."

His words remind me of a sobering fact- can I even trust him? And what do I do, now that our little band has recruited a member that may not be entirely sane?

Just then, a cold wind blows out from the forest. A scream resonates in the cold morning air.

We take off at a run for the dense trees. "She'll be fine," puffs Niegel. "Did you see that shooting?"

I decide he's right. But then I put my hand down to my side to draw Tamerlein.

I am still carrying the bow.

As we arrive at the forest fringe, Bellove tears past us, crying hysterically. I peer into the trees and see a flash of dark motion. I squint, trying to make out the shape, but it vanishes.

A long, thin shadow falls over me from behind.

**Cliffhanger like a boss!**

**So, what do you guys think? Please review!**

**Also, I have the main plot outlined, but am happy to take suggestions for anything minor that should happen in the story.**

**Finally, can someone please tell me how to do an actual line break? I've tried asterisks, dashes, and underscores, but TextEdit just erases them!**

**See you guys in Ch. 6!**


	6. The End of the Beginning

**Hi everyone! In this chapter, we finally see a little plot progression. I'm also using an honest-to-goodness word processor now, not TextEdit, so I should be able to put in actual line breaks. I can't think of any more note stuff to add, so let's get rolling in 3...2...1...**

**EDIT: Never mind, line breaks don't work after all. Whatevs. I'll work on it...**

Chapter 6

The End of the Beginning

I whirl around to confront whatever stands behind me.

At eye level, I see a jet black, scaly torso. It seems to glow, but not with light. It's impossible to describe, but it seems to shine with darkness itself.

Looking down, I see oddly elongated legs, long, skinny, and as dark as the main body.

Then I look up.

The creature's face is lost to me. I can't see what its mouth looks like, or if it has ears or a nose.

All I see is the eyes.

Glowing, purple, hypnotic discs stare at me from out of this apparition. The intense glare roots me to the spot, unable to move. The eyes seem to swirl, disorienting me and throwing me off balance.

I hear screams of agony echoing through my head, wails of sorrow, laments of ultimate misery.

The sensations threaten to overwhelm me, to wash me away, to destroy me utterly.

I stand there for hours, days, years, imprisoned by the creature's stare. I can no longer tell if the screams are inside my head, or if they are my own.

I am dimly aware of my friends shouting at me as the centuries go by. I make no response. _They can't help me now,_ I think. There's only one way out. I can't win this battle.

I take a halting step toward the jet-black form.

Suddenly, a blur of pink smashes into me from the side, knocking me to the ground and breaking the connection between myself and the mysterious figure. I curl into a ball in the dirt, struggling to block out the haunting noises that still echo through my head.

I dare to look up again. The creature is gone. The screams are fading. Bacon lies atop me, oinking with glee. _Stupid porkchop,_ I think. _Now I owe you one_.

I take a shuddering breath and turn to Niegel. "I was standing there for ages! Why couldn't you help me?"

He eyes me nervously. "Will, you were looking at that thing for maybe two seconds."

Bellove's sobs are only just now decreasing. "That guy wasn't nice at all! I called out to him in the forest, just trying to be friendly, and he chased me all the way out! I hate things like that... really... hate..."

The crying stops abruptly. Bellove straightens up, her expression hardening, and I know that her mind has switched back to Belligerence mode.

"So anyway, what was that?" I ask Niegel.

He sighs. "That was none other than an Enderman. They're the creatures we need to defeat if we want to reach the End and shut down the program."

In the white laboratory, the scientists sit or stand in various stages of shock.

One points a shaking finger at the screen. "Did... you see... those e-eyes?"

The scientist with no name tag nods. "Another effect of our mysterious 'bug', it would appear."

Another shakes his head. "Will needs to be careful. If he's stuck in there, and something like that gets to him... it won't be pretty."

Just then, there is a knock on the door.

"Oh no!" says one scientist. "I completely forgot! The Mojang rep was coming today!"

The unnamed scientist rubs his eyes. "Great. Just great. How do we sell our software with some sort of deadly glitch, and a teenaged kid trapped inside?"

The scientist who got up to answer the door makes a calming motion with his hands. "Just play it cool. This could be the deal of a lifetime!"

One of the scientists quickly drags the chair holding Will into a closet.

The door opens.

A man walks in.

"Hello!" he says. "I suppose you were expecting me? I'm from Mojang. My name is Notch."

I stare at Niegel with panic.

"I can't... I can't face that again," I say hurriedly. "I just can't do it."

Niegel punches me on the shoulder. "So what will you do? Stay in the village forever, sealed away from your real world, harried by zombies every day? It's no coincidence that we ran into that Enderman. They know you're here, and they know you might destroy them. The only way to win is to do it."

Belligerence winks. I'm not sure if this in agreement, or if it's her way of saying, "Go ahead, I'll stand here and laugh while you get killed by a giant purple-eyed monster." I hope it's the former.

I take a deep breath. They're right. I have to do this. It's my only way out. I feel like I'm trapped in a maze, running around, going in circles... circles... the Enderman's eyes come to mind, and I quickly block out the thought.

I turn to Niegel. "So what's the first step?"

He's evasive. "You might not want to do it if I told you."

"Just get it over with!"

"Fine. The earth beneath our feet is riddled with a network of tunnels and caves. The first step to the End is to go spelunking and mine obsidian."

My head is spinning. "And we need that for...?"

"I'll tell you when we get it."

I gulp. "Okay," I say. "Which way to the mine?"

Back in the laboratory, the group of scientists show Notch around the facility.

"So over here," says the scientist with no name tag, "this screen is running a demo of our simulator."

"Okay, okay," says Notch. "Why don't you show me how your game plays?"

Everybody freezes.

"Erm," says the unnamed scientist, well, it's not actually a game, it's more of a-"

"Yes, yes, good ones do seem like that, don't they?" says Notch, cutting him off.

"He thinks it's a game?" whispers one scientist to a colleague.

"We can't sell his company this powerful technology and have him thinking it's a computer game!" he whispers back.

The unnamed scientist points out the features of the simulator, including the random terrain generator and AI codes.

Pointing to the images of Will, Niegel, and Belligerence, and deciding to play along with Notch for now, stammers, "These are- ah- beta testers."

Notch examines the screen. "They're just trying to survive, you say? Are there any animals or monsters anything?"

"Yes," responds the scientist. "We have sheep, cows, pigs, and chickens, which are benign, and zombies, which attempt to kill the player."

"Hmmm... zombies," Notch mutters. "Those are somewhat bland. Have you considered something like... this?"

He reaches for a keyboard and begins typing rapidly. A spinning picture of a green creature, with four hooked legs and no arms, and a miserable facial expression to top it all off, appears on the screen. "It's my own invention... the Creeper!"

I stare into the pitch darkness, entirely unwilling to descend into the bowels of the earth.

"Come on," Niegel says. "It'll be fun!" He lights up a torch, which I had successfully crafted from a stick and a smoldering coal, and strides into the mine.

Belligerence nods to me, takes up her own torch, and follows Niegel.

Even Bacon oinks insultingly at me, and waddles after the other two.

What choice do I have now?

Catching up to Niegel, I ask, "So, what does this obsidian stuff look like?"

He considers it. "Well, it's dark. Very hard. It will usually occur around lava, sometimes even beneath it."

As we travel through the tunnel, we encounter various veins of iron and coal, which we carefully extract from the walls with our pickaxes. "We'll need to smelt this iron later," says Niegel, puffing with exertion, "but it'll be worth it. We can make strong armor, to help protect us from the zombies."

Inwardly, I think, _Yes, but can armor protect us from an Enderman's eyes?_

A flickering light emits from the tunnel in front of us.

"That must be lava!" exclaims Niegel. "Come on!" Belligerence grins wickedly and follows.

I look at Bacon. "You first."

He actually seems to shake his head, and makes his way into the next chamber.

A hissing sound echoes out of the darkness.

I tilt my head, listening for it, but disregard it as the sounds of the lava. I follow the rest of the group.

Back in the network of tunnels, the Creeper stalks the band of adventurers, waiting for the perfect moment to do what it was created to do.

**And that's Chapter 6.**

**For all you mine-heads out there, I know you can't mine obsidian without a diamond pickaxe, but I'm going to have to ask you to suspend your disbelief for a chapter or two. My apologies.**

**Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review!**

**...or the Creeper will find you.**


	7. The Beginning of the End

**Hello readers! It's time for Chapter 7 of Saga of Survival.**

**Looking back, I wish I'd called them Episodes, not Chapters. Maybe I'll edit that someday...**

**Also, forget what I said about diamond pickaxes at the end of Ch. 6. Never mind that.**

**Chapter starts in 3...2...1...**

Chapter 7

The Beginning of the End

The heat is intense in the chamber of lava. I wipe my forehead with my hand, already sweating profusely, while Bacon emits a light sizzling sound next to me.

Belligerence points across the pool of lava, her eyes reflecting the fiery light. "Shiny!" she squeals in a shrill voice, and I realize that Bellove has returned to us.

Niegel follows the pointing finger. "Excellent!" he exclaims. "That's diamond ore. Do you see it, Will?"

Looking across the pool, I can make out a vein of light blue material.

"That's the hardest material in nature, isn't it?" I say to nobody in particular.

"Yes it is," says Niegel. "We'll need diamond pickaxes to chip out some obsidian."

Bellove pouts. "But it's way over on the other side of the hot stuff! How do we get over there?"

Niegel chews his lip. "Yes... maybe we could..."

"Way ahead of you," I say, pulling some string out of my pocket. I tie the ends together as I did that day by the stream, and imagine a rope. A strong, sturdy fiber lies before me.

I tie one end into a lasso, then take careful aim. I can see my target- an outcropping on the other side of the pool, just above the ledge containing the diamonds.

I say a quick prayer, toss the rope, and... bingo! It falls neatly around the jutting rock. I tie the other end to a stalactite hanging down on our side, and test the rope. It seems to hold up pretty well. "You guys coming?"

Niegel stares at my makeshift bridge. "Isn't that kind of... extraordinarily dangerous?"

I nod, feeling kind of reckless. Ever since I met the Enderman, I have been consumed by a drive to reach the End by any means necessary, to escape as soon as possible.

Bacon oinks in fear and backs away from the rope.

"Fine, stay here, porkchop. Go grill yourself," I mutter, and begin moving hand over hand toward the diamond.

Dangling above the lava, the heat is almost unbearable. Several times, charred scraps of material splash up and land on my pants, almost burning through them. One particularly dangerous instance sees a spark fly up and land on my shoe. I feel heat on my foot. Quickly shaking it off, I continue my arduous journey.

I finally make it to the other side, and drop down from the rope onto the ledge holding diamonds. I turn around to see Niegel inching his way across the gap, a pained expression on his face. Bellove watches from the other side, biting her nails.

Just then, I hear a familiar sound.

SSSSSSSsssssssssss...

Is it the hiss of the lava? No, it's too high-pitched.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSssss...

It gets louder...

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Bellove screams.

I watch helplessly as a scaly green creature emerges from the cave. It has a pained grimace on its face, and steadily hisses like a snake. Or a teakettle. It has four curved legs, and no arms.

Desperately looking for some course of action, I root around in my backpack. I spy a stick in the largest pocket.

I don't want to break my blade, but I can't think of any other action. Without thinking, I smash Tamerlein against the diamonds in the stone, cleanly snapping off the blade. I throw the blade down to the ground, and horizontally line it up with my stick. "Javelin!" I shout. A perfectly formed throwing spear lies before me.

Looking up, I see the creature creeping its way toward Bellove. She cowers against the wall, shrieking. I want to shout _You have a bow! Shoot it! _but I know that Bellove's mind would restrain her from any aggressive action.

I whip my spear with a baseball-style throw. It zooms past Niegel with a rush of air, and buries itself in the creature's side.

The momentum of the javelin throws the creature back into the darkness of the cave. I see a flash of light, and hear a muted explosion.

I slump back against the diamonds, holding Tamerlein's useless hilt. I gave up the only weapon I had. It was only made of stone, and I'm sure I can craft a stronger sword, but it just won't be the same.

Bacon slinks out of a corner and gives a cautious oink.

Notch and the scientists observe the battle from the safety of the laboratory.

"Wow! That was really something!" exclaims Notch. "Did you see that Creeper go? Kaboom!"

The unnamed scientist silently celebrates Will's survival. He involuntarily glances toward the closet, and wonders what would have become of the boy within if he had been in range of the Creeper's explosion.

Notch pauses for a moment. "One thing I did notice, though, was the way that one beta tester crafted the javelin. Are they allowed to make anything, anything at all that they need?"

"Yes," says one of the scientists. "The simula- ah, game is designed to test the creativity and survival skills of the players."

Notch pensively adds, "I think it makes the game a little more skewed in the players' benefit. We should limit the crafting mechanism to a preset amount of items, in my opinion.

The unnamed scientist thinks, _He's insinuating himself into this operation, without even knowing what it's all about!_

"Fine," he says through gritted teeth. "Take it away."

Notch grins and steps up to the computer. Whistling, he types in a series of complex commands.

Once we are reunited on my side of the lava, we examine the diamonds buried within the stone.

"We need some sort of tool to extract the diamond," I say, stating the obvious.

Niegel raises his hand. "Pickaxe?"

I shake my head. "There's got to be an easier way... how about a drill?"

Niegel looks at me quizically. "You can make a drill?"

_I hope,_ I think but don't say. I take a small iron chunk out of my backpack, and a pair of leather gloves. I hold the iron out over the lava to heat and soften it, then twist it into a corkscrew. I bend a stick into a handle shape, and manage to make something that looks very much like a drill.

_Drill. Drill,_ I think, focusing on the image of the exact tool I want.

Nothing happens.

I try again. No result.

I look up at my friends. "I guess we'll just stick to the pickaxe..." I mumble.

We manage to successfully extract several diamond pieces from the rock. Summoning all the focus I can, I manage to craft them into a set of pickaxes without trouble. What has happened to my crafting ability? Was the drill escapade just a fluke? I can't shake the feeling that my power has been reduced, that I am not as strong as I was before.

As we wander through the pitch-dark tunnels that riddle the earth's crust, I walk in the front, with Bellove behind me and Niegel bringing up the rear. "So, Niegel," I call back to him, "are we getting close to any obsidian?"

Silence reigns behind me.

Icy cold fear shoots through my body. "Niegel! That's not funny! Say something!"

The echo of my voice mocks me in return. _Say something... something... something..._

"Bellove? Did you see Niegel?" I ask.

_See Niegel... Niegel... Niegel..._

"SOMEONE ANSWER ME!" I scream, feeling like my lungs will rip apart.

_Answer me... answer me... answer me..._

I sink to me knees, holding my head in my hands. "I'm lost," I mutter to myself.

_Lost... lost... lost..._

**Well, that's Chapter 7. The end has begun! It won't be for a while, though.**

**Please review, and don't forget any questions, critiques, or comments you may have.**

**See you later! SuperWuppy out**


	8. Thinking with Portals

** Hello everyone, and welcome back to Saga of Survival!**

**I apologize for the long wait. HOWEVER! SoS is now back!**

**And so, without further ado... start the chapter in 3...2...1...**

Chapter 8- Thinking with Portals

I stumble on through the cave, holding out my hands to protect from any oncoming turns. I'd already gotten some nasty bruises so far, and am generally having a very bad day.

My mind wanders to Belle and Niegel. I wonder if they're looking for me, or if they've given me up for lost. Maybe they've found obsidian, for the next step in reaching the End. I'm to exhausted to try to think about the ordeals that will lie before me if I manage to escape my underground tomb.

Suddenly a dim sparkle of light appears before me. I begin to run, hoping it's the exit, but come to a passage with a short wall that rises to my waist.

I peer over the wall.

My first glimpse is of a massive chamber. Its floor is far down below me, and its ceiling stretches up into the darkness, farther than I can see. The walls are made purely of a black, glossy substance shot through with lighter streaks. It is lined with red torches that give off a dim light.

Then I notice the beings moving around in the chamber. Hundreds- no, _thousands _of Endermen mingle in the cave, chittering and groaning in their strange tongue. I hastily avert my eyes from the spectacle, but luckily none of them seem to be looking my way.

I focus on one Enderman, standing apart from the rest. He has two sticks and several pieces of iron on the floor in front of him. The purple aura around him flashes brilliantly, and an iron axe lies on the floor in front of him.

The sight of this monster using the ability I had counted on as my trump card, the ace up my sleeve, overwhelms me, and I slide down the wall, shaking. _They can craft, too! _I think wildly. A sneaking suspicion appears in my mind that this simulation is not running at all as it was intended to do.

I look over the wall again just in time to see the axe-wielding Enderman depart the cave through a side tunnel. If he's going to collect wood, that tunnel must lead to the surface! All I have to do is reach it...

Jumping down is not a viable solution. Could I carve steps down with my pickaxe? Not before the Endermen see me. Then I notice a thin ledge running around the cave's circumference at my height. I could move closer to the tunnel on that, and then find a way down.

My musings are interrupted by the return of the axe-wielding Enderman. He carries in his hand a single plank of wood. The other Endermen cheer, then start hasty work. One smashes a hole in the wall, and a stream of lava pours out. The others pick up pieces of the material that makes up the walls of the chamber, and form them into a rectangular shape around the lava stream. The Enderman holding the wood plank ceremoniously inserts it into the lava, and it catches fire.

I feel a rushing sensation, like all of the air is being sucked toward that fire. The purple aura of the Endermen swirls around it. The red lamps flare. The fire bursts into a violent inferno, blinding me for a second, and...

The rectangular space is filled with a whirling purple light. It is just barely transparent. Five Endermen walk forward, holding crafted swords, and step into the light.

I crane my neck to see them coming out the other side, but there is nothing there. They are simply gone.  
Time to leave.

_

The scientists watch carefully as the Endermen complete their ritual, hoping for some insight into the mysterious creatures.

"Incredible!" exclaims Notch. "What amazing artificial intelligence!" He moves closer to the screen, but trips over a wire. He grasps for something to break his fall, and comes upon a plug in the wall.

The screens go dark.

As the scientists shout angrily, he shoves the plug back in, only to be greeted with an error message on the screen.

-FATAL DATA LOSS. CONTINUE IN EMERGENCY MODE?-  
-YES- -NO-

The nameless scientist stares at Notch in speechless fury. The entire experiment had almost been destroyed, along with the consciousness of their test subject. He could not allow Will to be killed, or else face investigations and the destruction of everything he had worked for.

Still seething, he selects YES.

The world within the computer begins to compensate itself, from the edges in, for this sudden loss of data. The edges become rougher, the details less defined, and reality itself becomes impossible.

_

I inch out onto the ledge. I keep my eyes firmly locked straight ahead of me, hoping not to be noticed by any Endermen. In my deep focus, I fail to notice the pebble until it is too late.

_Clatter-clatter-clatter-CRASH!  
_  
Every Enderman eye points toward the source of the noise.

I lose my head and begin frantically digging into the wall with my pickaxe, trying to put distance between myself and the monsters. Several Endermen appear on the ledge next to me, reaching out with grasping arms.

Suddenly, my pickaxe breaks through the wall. There is a rumble, and a jet of freezing water explodes out of the wall.  
I scream as the Endermen and I are swept off the ledge. The water begins to fill the cavern, dissipating the strange substance created by the flaming wood plank. The Endermen are vaporized as the water touches them. My momentary elation at having discovered their weakness turns to fear as the water level continues to rise. Drowning below ground is not on my list of priorities.

As I begin to slog through the liquid toward my escape route, I notice that the vanishing Endermen are leaving behind small, sparkling pearls as they are destroyed. I stuff as many as I can into my backpack, and keep moving.  
The tide reaches the tunnel before I do. I run into the gaping maw of the passage, trying to stay ahead of the water, but to no avail. The water reaches a height at which I am forced to swim, and the pressure of the rising water forces my up the steep path.

I am plunged into darkness as I continue moving up, up up... _Just how deep was I? _I think. Out of nowhere, pure, blinding sunlight comes into view, and I am ejected back onto the surface in a rushing geyser of water.

I wipe my eyes and peer around. To my shock, the village and the cave that I entered seemingly a million years ago are both in sight. I must have been walking in circles the entire time! Summoning up the last of my strength, I walk toward the village, but meet with a strange sight when I reach it.

In the center of the village, around where Niegel and I fought the zombie horde, there stands a dark rectangle nearly identical to the one the Endermen had created down in the cavern. This one however, is devoid of any glowing purple substances.

To my relief, Niegel, Belle, and Bacon appear from around a house. Niegel has his sword drawn, and Belle her bow. From this, I surmise she is in Belligerence mode.

"Hi, guys!" I say in a cracking voice.

Niegel puts his sword down. "Will? I almost didn't recognize you! You're all messed up! What happened?"

Suddenly angry at Niegel, I shout, "Well, here's what happened. I got lost down a cave, saw some Endermen doing a creepy ritual and building some sort of magic lava thing, and now I finally make it out and you are doing the same thing! Are you on their side? Why didn't you tell me? I've been helping you all this time!"

Niegel puts his hands out. "Will, calm down. None of us want anything to do with the Endermen. This is all to reach the End, like you know we've been trying to do all along, and shut down the simulation."

He points to the black rectangle. "That's a Nether portal, made of obsidian. When I light it, we can travel through it to reach the Nether, where we can find materials that will aid us in reaching the End."

I think about this. "Fine. I'll believe you. But what were the Endermen doing going to the Nether? I thought they lived in the End!"

Niegel shrugs. "I honestly don't know. Now, what say we-"

He is interrupted by a clap of thunder. A storm had moved in overhead, unbeknownst to us. Belligerence points down an alley, and we take off for Niegel's home.

I count the seconds between the lightning and thunder, and find that the strikes are very close to us. I hope against hope that we can make it back in time.

My hopes are dashed when an earsplitting sound deafens me, and a flash of light and force throws me onto the ground. Lightning must have struck right next to us. I turn around, and see Bacon lying on the ground, smoking.  
"Noooo!" I run back to my pet, but halt when he stands up on two legs.

"Bacon?" I ask, slightly confused.

Before my eyes, his legs lengthen and he grows hands on his forelegs. He reaches my own height, and a golden sword appears in his hand. He shrieks in agony, and turns tail to run back toward the town center. I give chase.

Just before we arrive at he Nether portal, a bolt of lightning strikes the obsidian, and the portal is lit with the same aura as the one possessed by the Endermen. Without slowing down, Bacon the zombie sprints through and vanishes.  
I fall to my knees as the rain sheets down around me, and the lightning explodes overhead. I shut my eyes, trying to block it all out.

When I open my eyes, the world is no longer the same as it was before.

My last thought before losing consciousness is, _The world is made of_ _blocks. That's the strangest thing I've seen all day._

**Thanks for reading the latest chapter! Don't forget to review!  
Also, what should I make the cover picture for SoS? I'll take any and all suggestions!**


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